AMERICAN RED CROSS

The American Red Cross is the nation's foremost volunteer emergency services
organization. Its mission is to improve the quality of human life; to enhance
self-reliance and concern for others; and to help people avoid, prepare for,
and cope with emergencies.  The Red Cross does this through services that are
governed and directed by volunteers and are consistent with its congressional
charter and the principles of the International Red Cross:  humanity,
impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and
universality.  The nearly 2,800 American Red Cross chapters are located
throughout the United States and its territories, and there are field stations
on U.S. military installations around the world. In all, nearly 1.2 million
trained Red Cross volunteers and 23,000 paid staff members help people in
their communities to prevent and relieve human suffering.

DISASTER SERVICES
Each year, Red Cross paid and volunteer staff respond to more than 50,000
disasters, ranging from single-family house fires to major disasters such as
hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes.  They help hundreds of thousands of their
neighbors by providing food, clothing, shelter, and other emergency needs -
free of charge. In addition, Red Cross chapters are involved long before
disasters occur, educating the community on how to stay safe should a disaster
strike.

BLOOD SERVICES and TRANSPLANTATION SERVICES
Red Cross volunteers help collect more than 6 million units of blood from more
than 4 million volunteer blood donors every year.  These donations amount to
nearly half the nation's blood supply and help save countless lives.
Transplantation Services, the newest of Red Cross services, collects,
processes, and distributes tissue products.  Tissues include cornea for sight,
temporal bone for hearing, skin for burn patients, heart valves for heart
defects, bone for orthopedic procedures, tendon and ligaments, and other
tissues. These tissues help one-half million Americans a year to live more
normal, productive lives.

HEALTH AND SAFETY SERVICES
In communities across the nation, Red Cross instructors each year certify an
average of 7 million people in Red Cross health and safety courses, which
include Red Cross CPR, first aid, lifeguard training, and swimming.  These
courses in turn help make our communities healthier, safer places to live.

AIDS EDUCATION
The American Red Cross is a national leader in AIDS education.  Red Cross
people work in cooperation with a number of public and private health-related
organizations -- including the U.S. Public Health Service -- to provide
millions of Americans with unbiased, timely and accurate information about
AIDS and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

MILITARY/SOCIAL SERVICES
Red Cross paid and volunteer staff provide emergency-related services to
members of the U.S. armed forces, veterans, their families, and civilians.
For example, the Red Cross makes its around- the-clock, around-the-world
emergency communication network available to men and women of our armed forces
and their families during times of personal emergencies.  This service
transmits or receives over 800,000 messages a year, at no cost to service
personnel or their families.

INTERNATIONAL SERVICES
Through American Red Cross national headquarters, each chapter is linked to
the International Red Cross Movement, which is dedicated to protecting human
life worldwide.  As a result, local chapters are able to offer a number of
unique international services, including:
* Responding with personnel, financial aid, and gifts in kind to appeals for
  assistance in international disasters.
* Tracing/location services for people separated from their relatives because
  of war, civil disturbance, or natural disaster.
* Assisting individuals or families attempting to bring close relatives to the
  United States from countries where it is difficult to emigrate.
* Helping other Red Cross and Red Crescent societies build and strengthen
  their organizations by sharing with them American Red Cross expertise and
  resources.
* Educating the American public about International Humanitarian Law, the
  Geneva Conventions, and the Red Cross Principles.